Stating that former female political wing leader of LTTE, Subramaniam Shivathai, was now in the ‘consideration list’ of the government, the Civil Monitoring Commission claimed the government has a secret plan to use former LTTE seniors to its political advantage.
Convener of the Civil Monitoring Commission, DPF leader Mano Ganesan issuing a statement on behalf of the voluntary organization today welcomed the transferring of Subramaniam Shivathai alias Thamilini to a rehabilitation camp from detention.
It however said that she is now in the consideration list of the government along with Selvarasah Pathmanathan alias “KP”, Karuna Amman, Pillaiyan and Daya Master.
“It also seems that government has a secret plan to use these former LTTE seniors to their political advantage within the governments’ political agenda,” Ganesan said.
Nevertheless, he said they have no issue over this and that if they (the LTTE seniors) are willing to work with the government, they could do so.
“But why is this consideration not given to other Tamil political prisoners who are languishing in the remand prisons over five to fifteen years?,” he questioned.
The leader of Democratic People’s Front said that, there are many women with their children, elders, sick persons and clergymen as political prisoners.
“Most of them are Tamils. There are some Muslims and Sinhalese too imprisoned under PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), he alleged.
Mano Ganesan accused the government of only pardoning “some selectively for political reasons” and also for keeping the other remaining imprisoned also for political reasons. “That is why we are calling them as Political Prisoners.”
The Civil Monitoring Commission demanded that all of them also released under a general amnesty “as it happened after the JVP rebellions in 1989 and 1971 in the south.”
Court yesterday (23) ordered authorities to provide rehabilitation training to Thamilini, after she had expressed willingness to undergo rehabilitation.
Thamilini was arrested and kept in remand custody since the end of the military campaign against the LTTE in May 2009.
